February 2013 General Mtg Minutes

 in Minutes - General Meeting by (updated 4166 days ago)
Council of Fort Lauderdale Civic Associations
General Meeting
February 13, 2013
City Hall- 8th Floor Conference Room
  1. Call to Order:   The meeting was called to order by President Marilyn Mammano at 7:30 pm followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
  2. Attendance: First Vice President Ron Centamore took the roll and declared a quorum.
  3. Minutes: The minutes of the January 8, 2012 general meeting was unanimously approved upon a motion and second.
  4. Treasurer’s Report:  Treasurer Madeline Treasurer circulated her monthly Report showing a balance as of January 31, 2013 of $7,686.18.
  5. FLPD Capt. Louis Alvarez distributed the current Curfew Ordinance for the City which makes it a civil offense for children under 16 years old to be out between 11pm and 5 am on weekdays and midnight to 6 am weekends. He stated that the ordinance was not enforced because there was no place to bring children picked up for this kind of curfew violation. There was some discussion of how curfew violations were handled in the past.   Problems in this area are of concern to many of the neighborhoods. President Mammano suggested that we communicate with our County Representatives regarding this problem
  6. Fire Rescue Chief Lorber alerted the Council that there were going to be security exercises at the port on March 20th. Interested persons can watch the exercises. A reminder will be made at the March meeting.
  7. Old Business:
  • President Mammano reported that the Reapportionment Committee did not make any decisions at its last meeting and encouraged people to attend the future meetings. Dates are published on the City’s website.
  • Pres. Mammano introduced Joy Ridell from the Florida Institute of Government who will work with us to develop a program concerning planning and running better meetings, increasing involvement in meetings, grooming leadership, and other topics of interest to members. Volunteers were solicited for a committee to focus on Better Meetings. Members who volunteered were: Betty Shelley, Linda Nugent, Lucy Hardy Shannon Harmeling, Donna Carson, Barbara Haggerty and Brucie Cummings.
  • Mr. Centamore reported that 11 renewals have been received for the 2013-14 fiscal year. He emphasized the importance of getting current email addresses because much of the communications are electronic.
  • Nominating Committee Report:   Past President Doug Sterner read the slate of nominees to be voted on at the March 2013 general meeting. He observed that the slate includes both experienced nominees and “new blood”. He read the bylaws on electing new officers and board members. Additional nominations will be taken from the floor before the election.
  1. Public Participation Ordinance Committee: Olivier Turina reported that the committee had reviewed the proposed ordinance and, while they thought it was a step in the right direction, it was not ready to be recommended.   Upon a motion and a second, the Council voted on whether to continue the dialogue with the City and developers on modifications to the proposed public participation ordinance. The motion passed unanimously to continue discussions. The committee members are Mr. Turina, President Mammano, VP Centamore, Ray Dettman Corresponding Secty Mergenhagen, Charles Jordon and Donna Carson. Chair Mammano will communicate the Council’s position to the City Manager.
  2. Diana Alarcon, City Director of Transportation and Mobility, presented further modification to the proposed Speed Hump Policy that acknowledged the Council’s concerns about how the policy would be applied around parks and schools and other public places as well as notice issues. The changes were positively received. The modified Policy will go to the Commission.

Ms. Alarcon also reported that the Shared Parking Ordinance  changes that went into effect for the barrier island were approved by Planning and Zoning Board for city-wide application.

  1. Josh Freeman introduced himself as the Broward County liaison for Senator Maria Sachs.  He will be attending neighborhood meetings and is available to the communities. He encouraged residents in Senator Sach’s district to keep in touch. While many issues were raised by those in attendance. The Council’s Legislative Committee will coordinate the Council’s legislative priorities. Members who volunteered for the Legislative Committee were: Donna Mergenhagen, Lahronda Ware, Richard Johns, Tim Smith, and Dennis Ulmer.
  2. Neighborhoods are encouraged to pass on volunteer hours to the City to be counted toward the Million Hour Challenge.
  3. Stephanie Denham who coordinated Netdoor.com for the City stated that 42 neighborhoods have signed up on Nextdoor.com.  The company is recognized as one of the best tech start-ups and concerns about security, etc. may be unfounded.
  4. For the Good of the Community.  There were numerous announcements about events taking place in March including the St Patrick’s Day Parade, CERT training. Ms. Lahronda Ware thanked all those who participated in the crime walk in Dorsey River Bend.

 

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:40 pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Rochelle Golub
Recording Secretary